* formerly known as Game design for artists, mavericks and troublemakers

A hands-on game design and development course focused on innovative and expressive forms of gameplay. The class is structured around two main assignment, a non-digital game (or game-like work) and a digital game/installation. The emphasis is on the relational potential of games: multi player games, play as performance, location-based games and games for social criticism. The class involves frontal lectures, several design exercises and the radical transformation of "standard" games into meaningful / original / impossible / playable artworks. Or beautiful failures. Groups are allowed but all students will be required into some extents to produce graphics and code. Previous programming experience is appreciated but not required if you commit to develop the needed skills independently.

* Being passionate about game might help but please keep in mind this is not a class for sharing our love for video games or video game culture. We'll try to approach the subject critically and focus on cutting-edge developments at the margins of the mainstream game industry.

* This is an art course and CMU School of Art is focused on conceptual practice, it means that your primary goal will be to create meaningful works (read: video games as new media) - not necessarily elegant, balanced, well designed, entertaining products. A more straightforward (read: games-as-systems-of-rules) and industry-oriented class is provided by Jesse Shell at the ETC.

* Making games can be a great and fun way to learn programming, but if you never wrote code before I strongly suggest to invest some time this Summer to test your tolerance. For my experience you'll realize pretty soon if you love it or hate it. There's no way you'll get it away without writing code.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the course students will (hopefully) be able to:

* Create playable games or prototypes with innovative gameplays or expressive/political value.

* Critically analyze the mechanics of games including its ideological and cultural underpinnings.

* Discuss their interactive works in the context of new media art and/or in relation with mainstream cultural production.

TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

ANALOGThe first half of the semester will be focused on analog games and game-like art. You'll be required to conceptualize three projects, one of which will become the mid-semester assignment.

.Introduction: games, fun, play

.A social history of boardgamesScreening: Brenda Brathwaite - prototyping for tragedy (excerpt)

Play session: Boardgames

Assignment:
Boardgame concept. You have two options:. Start from the general mechanic of a classic game and change its rules in a meaningful way.
Suggested games are: Chess (territorial acquisition), the Game of Life (roll and move), Rock
paper scissors (chance and pattern recognition).. Design a simple print-and-play game about an socially relevant issue.1 Week

.Rule-based art: Fluxus games and algorithmic performances. Performance art inspired by video games

Assignment:
Performance concept. You have two options:- Devise a set of rules for multiple performers. Try to explore a theme like emergence, intimacy, trust etc.- Create a proof of concept for a synthetic performance/non-narrative machinima.1 Week

. In and out of the magic circle: overview of locative Games and ARGGuest lecture: TBA

Assignment:
Produce a detailed concept for a location-based game, possibly for the campus area, that can be implemented with the set of tools discussed in class (txt messages, standard smartphone applications, QRcodes, GPS, AR…)1 Weeks

Mid semester project.
Production and playtest. Groups of two can be formed.3 Weeks

DIGITAL
The second half of the semester will be focused on digital games. You'll be required to conceptualize three projects, one of which will be expanded into a final product for the exhibition. Frontal lectures will be integrated with technical tutorials.

. Radical interfaces: when artists design controllers

Assignment:
Design an alternative interface for an existing game.1W

. Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics in video game design. Play sessions: Indie games

Assignment:
Conceptualize a game starting from a visual or auditory inspiration. Produce a screenshot mockup that can convey the "mood" of the game. The possible mechanics will be discussed in class. 1W

. New arcade: games for galleries and partiesPlay sessions: experimental two player games

. Game luddites: artists messing with code

. Games for the masses: MMORPG and the rise of "social" gamesScreening: Second Skin

Assignment:
Modify the (provided) source code of a game archetype and turn it into a multiplayer prototype.2W

. Playing with reality: activism, news and documentary games

. Joystick envy: women in games

. The military-entertainment complex: a brief history of war and games.

Final project
Production and playtest. Groups of two can be formed.4W

POLICIES

*Attendance: three or more unexcused absences result in the drop of a letter grade.

*Absences: you are responsible for what happens in class whether you're here or not. Organize with your classmates to get class information and material that you have missed.

*Participation: you are invited, encouraged, and expected to engage actively in discussion, reflection and activities.

* Net addiction: you can exist for few hours without tweettering, facebooking, chatting, texting or emailing. Any device for mediated communication is banned during theory classes, crits and discussions. A 1% grade reduction will result from being found using them.
During the lab hours you will be allowed to network as long as your behaviour is not disruptive.

*Assignments: late assignments are only accepted with permission of instructor. You lose 10% of your points per day late up to a max of 7 days late.
*Tardiness: 1st tardy = free.
Less than 10 minutes late = 1% grade reduction.
Over 20 minutes late = absence (unless justified).

Grading sucks but someone has to do the dirty job. Assignments and final project are graded according to these criteria:

E. The student failed to deliver the assignment.D. The game/prototype doesn't work, has major bugs or is incomplete to a point that is impossible to get a clear idea of the user experience.C. The game/prototype is functional and complete in all of its parts. Both the technical execution and the concept are sufficient but not outstanding.B. Good concept and excellent technical execution. Or, vice versa, excellent idea and good technical execution.A. Outstanding concept and implementation. Seriously, this is reserved to the top 10%.

GAMEOGRAPHY

As a reference here's a list of most of the games and works presented during the course. Some of them will be assigned as homeplay: play at home or during lab time and present it to your classmates in 5 minutes.
The classification is quite arbitrary, most games belong to more than one category.
The focus is on small independent games rather than big-budget AAA title because they are closer to what you can realistically accomplish during this course.

Performances
Wall Drawings by Sol LeWitt 196-
Open Score by Robert Rauschenberg (1966)
Motor Vehicle Sundown by George Brecht (1960)
Variations V, John Cage, Merce Cunningham Dance Company (1965)
Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square by Bruce Nauman (1967-68)
Relation Work by Abramovic Ulay (1976-1979)
Fluxus Olympiads George Maciunas / Institute of aesthletics (196? / 2008)
The liminal surface by Ali Momeni & David Bithell (2008)